Taste - impaired

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Overview

Treatment

Taste - impaired

Definition:

Taste impairment ranges from distorted taste to a complete loss of taste.

Alternative Names:

Loss of taste; Metallic taste; Dysgeusia

Considerations:

The tongue can "taste" only sweet, salty, sour, and bitter sensations. Much of what is perceived as "taste" is actually smell.

Taste abnormalities can be caused by anything that interrupts the transfer of taste stimuli to the brain, or conditions that affect the way the brain interprets taste stimuli.

Common Causes:

common cold
nasal infection, nasal polyps, sinusitis
salivary gland infections
influenza
viral pharyngitis
mouth dryness
aging (the number of taste buds diminishes with age)
heavy smoking (especially pipe smoking) which causes mouth dryness
vitamin (vitamin B-12) or mineral (Zinc in diet) deficiency
injury to the mouth, nose, or head
gingivitis
side effects of drugs such as antithyroid drugs, captopril, griseofulvin, lithium, penicillamine, procarbazine, rifampin, vinblastine, or vincristine
Bell's palsy
Sjogren's syndrome
strep throat

Review Date: 4/11/2005
Reviewed By: Kevin Fung, MD, FRCS(C), Department of Otolaryngology, Division of Head and Neck Oncology and Reconstructive Surgery, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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